Animal Welfare United States Project #40170

Feed the Change for Farmed Animals

by VINE

Project Report | Apr 9, 2024
A Wild Ride at VINE

By pattrice jones | Coordinator, VINE Sanctuary

It's been a wild ride this year so far at VINE Sanctuary!

"Weird is the new normal." That's what we say about the weather now, due to the unfortunate effects of climate change. The winter was milder than usual, with lower-than-average snowfall and weeks of warmer-than-usual weather. We've had at least five mud seasons already, as warm days melted snow into much... but then it all froze again, leaving deep ruts in all driveways and pathways.

Then, beginning in late March, what felt like a winter's worth of snow fell all at once. We got nearly three feet of snow over one weekend! Then, on April Fools Day, the tractor played a trick on us: Nobody got hurt, but the parking brake slipped and the tractor rolled down the driveway, across the road, and into a ravine, taking a gate and a dumpster with it!

Again: Nobody got hurt. That's the most important thing! But we did have to pay a hefty sum to hire heavy machinery to haul the tractor and dumpster out of the ravine. And we still will need to replace solar-powered gate opener and repair that tractor.

We use the tractor every day to haul bales of hay weighing between 500 and 900 pounds each to the pastures where cows, sheep, goats, and alpacas are eagerly awaiting their meals.

If you're inclined to give a little extra to help us repair the tractor, you should know that GlobalGiving's Little x Little campaign runs through April 12. All small donations will be eligible for a 50% match while funds last!

You're probably wondering about the eclipse. Here, it didn't get fully dark but did become twilight-ish. Here's what happened as it began to grow darker in the middle of the afternoon: Sheep and cows began mooing and baaing as if it were dinner time. Roosters began crowing much more often than they usually do at that time of day. As it grew even darker, some roosters switched to a keening sound that they sometimes make at bedtime. For their part, hens spread out to forage, as they usually do right before bedtime, stocking up calories to last them overnight.

When the eclipse passed, everybody returned to their usual daytime activities as if nothing odd had just happened!

Thanks again for your support of the sanctuary!

false spring in "the commons"

tractor mishap

Links:

VINE website

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Dec 14, 2023
2023 Review

By pattrice jones | Coordinator, VINE Sanctuary

Aug 18, 2023
Bella, Bella, Ferdinand, and Kevin

By pattrice jones | Coordinator, VINE Sanctuary

Greetings and THANK YOU again for supporting animals at VINE Sanctuary through our Feed the Change for Farmed animals campaign.Your gifts have helped to ensure that all of the animals here at the sanctuary have all the food, bedding, and veterinary care they need!

That being the case, I thought you might like to meet some of the new members of our multispecies community, beginning with Bella and Ferdinand and then continuing with Kevin and yet another Bella.

Six years ago, we got a call about a runaway cow right here in Vermont. She’d been on the loose in the woods for weeks, having escaped from a dairy farm or slaughterhouse. Several neighbors had tried to befriend her, but their public posts about her had alerted hunters to her existence. Local men were overheard announcing their intention to get "free steak" by shooting her.

One neighbor called us to ask if we could bring her to the sanctuary before the hunters found her or a local homesteader captured her to use for breeding purposes.

We readily agreed, but the cow did not consent!

Cheryl remembers:

We were trying to move her through some very rugged terrain which was basically on the side of a mountain. As the weeks progressed we realized that she knew the terrain way better than we did!

Kevin remembers running up and down a mountain in the effort to encourage the cow toward the property on which we had parked our trailer:

As if it wasn’t already a toilsome task to transport a nimble young cow from mountainous woods to an animal sanctuary, we were given new challenges daily. Early on a local used an ATV to catch up to her, which took away the initial gentle encouragement approach. Then a pair of miscreants decided to sabotage the rescue, unleashing hunting hounds to scare her towards their meat farm.

Eventually, Cheryl helped the friendly neighbor to lure the cow onto her property with cleverly spaced hay and then close the gate behind her. That kind person was willing to host the cow at her home but worried that she might not be able to do so in perpetuity. We agreed that, if ever she became unable to care for the fiercely independent cow she called Ms. Bovine, we would welcome her to the sanctuary then.

Six years later, that promise came due — along with a big surprise!

This spring, the kindhearted rescuer called to say that her circumstances had changed and she would need to leave the property that had become home to Ms. Bovine — and her son!

It turned out that the runaway cow had been pregnant and gave birth to a calf some months after finding refuge from the hunters. Now an adult called Ferdinand, he needed a new home too.

Of course we agreed: A promise is a promise. Bella Bovine and her son Ferdinand arrived at the sanctuary in June. True to her free spirit, Bella bolted for the woods as soon as she left the trailer. True to his name, gentle and gigantic Ferdinand took time to make friends along the way.

One of his new friends is Ozzie, who has been until now without a best friend. No more! He and Ferdinand are now fast friends and constant companions.

The next newcomer was a turkey called Kevin, who a kind person saved but was unable to continue to care for. He strutted right in and made himself at home! By his second day at the sanctuary, Kevin had appointed himself our official greeter and was interviewing staff members and volunteers as they arrived. We all agree that we wish we had his confidence!

The most recent arrival is another cow called Bella, an elderly survivor of dairying. She and her lifelong best friend had been living on the property of a kind person who cared for them after the dairy went out of business. Then her friend died and the person needed to move to a place where there would be no land for her.

When Bella arrived, she was disoriented and lonely. Even though we knew she would make friends with the other elder cows in our special needs herd, we were worried for her. We needn't have worried: The cow called Maizey, who lost her own lifelong best friend last winter, stepped up to show Bella around. They have since become constant companions. You can see a video of Maizey grooming Bella here.

So, that's two new friendships—Ferdinand & Ozzie and Maizey & Bella—for people who really needed them. And that's all because of donors like you, who make our work possible.

If you're not yet a monthly donor, you can sign up today and get matched by GlobalGiving!

Bella Bovine

Ferdinand and Ozzie

Links:

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